IBM Dives Into Cloud Security Market
It’s no surprise that large enterprises are taking a serious look at cloud. While small to medium enterprises have been more accepting of cloud solutions due to sheet necessity, large enterprise markets have been somewhat reluctant to dive into public cloud due to security concerns. Several weeks ago, a report was published mentioning 3 out of 4 executives in the IT industry indicated in a survey that they were extremely anxious in regards to the security offered alongside cloud services.
IBM has decided to dive head first into the world of cloud security. In an IBM sanctioned study, IBM cites statistics showing that 44% of corporate security leaders believe a major security breach is “bound to happen.” IBM took it upon themselves to dig deeper, looking for the exact concerns of IT executives. IBM’s Marc van Zadelhoff, a vice president with the strategy and product management team for IBM Security Systems, mentioned that he posed the question, “We asked them ‘What’s the number one, big security issue that’s going to happen?’ and that’s what they honed in on.”
IBM is calling its new cloud security division IBM Dynamic Cloud Security Portfolio. IBM will use its security tools to perform auditing operations that will keep enterprises safe from attacks. IBM mentions that it will provide authentication services, implement data controls and provide reporting on a broad overview of top security risks posed within the environment, if any.
IDC says that IBM is the third largest IT security company in the world. IBM only trails Symantec and Cisco in terms of sheer volume of security related services sold. It’s kind of surprising that Big Blue hasn’t unveiled this new division sooner considering their significant investment in SoftLayer. Although nothing official has been announced, in true IBM fashion, the announcement of this team probably indicates an acquisition in the near future of a start up security firm that will fit within IBM’s new Dynamic Cloud Security Portfolio.
